RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s media minister has launched 12 initiatives aimed at strengthening the Kingdom’s media ecosystem, with a focus on artificial intelligence and innovation.
Speaking at the opening of the fifth edition of the Saudi Media Forum in Riyadh on Monday, Salman bin Yousef Al-Dossary said: “I am pleased to announce the launch of 12 specialized initiatives at this forum, most notably the Saudi Media Innovation Camp in the fields of augmented journalism, intelligent content production and the virtual presenter, in partnership with the Saudi Data and AI Authority.”
Al-Dossary added that the programs also included Tamkeen, which supports entrepreneurial ideas and startups, and the Numuw (growth) initiative, launched in partnership with the Kafalah Program, aimed at transforming media concepts into sustainable, investment-ready business models.
The minister said Vision 2030 had shifted Saudi media from “fragmented efforts” to an integrated system, and from traditional regulation to flexible governance that balanced freedom with responsibility and openness with public awareness.
He said the Media Scholarship Program, launched in partnership with the Ministry of Education, would offer around 100 scholarships this year to train Saudi talent at leading universities, academic institutions and media companies worldwide.
Al-Dossary also announced the launch of a Saudipedia translation track into five languages — English, French, Chinese, Russian and German — to expand the international reach of the Kingdom’s heritage and cultural content.
As part of the ongoing Konoz Initiative, he said the ministry would release more than 30 documentary and cinematic works this year in collaboration with Saudi and international filmmakers, presenting Saudi identity through a contemporary and professional lens.
In the area of global influence, the minister said the Kingdom would host more than 2000 content creators and influencers from 90 countries for the second edition of the Impact Makers Forum in Qiddiya City. He also unveiled the second edition of the State of the Media in the Kingdom report, alongside new investment opportunities through the General Authority of Media Regulation.
During a ministerial panel at the forum titled “Media as a Force for Change: Challenges of Public Opinion and Shaping the Generation of the Future,” Ahmed Assaf, general supervisor of official media in the State of Palestine, said algorithms can amplify certain stories while obscuring others, giving digital platforms considerable influence over public opinion.
“The important question is, who owns these algorithms and for whose benefit do they operate?” he said, adding that major platforms operate within specific policy frameworks not always in alignment with those of Arab countries.
Assaf said some Palestinian content had been restricted or removed, arguing that algorithms can either help disseminate information or limit its reach, depending on platform policies.
He called for greater digital sovereignty, urging countries to either develop their own platforms or engage in collective negotiations with global technology companies to ensure local laws and regulations were respected.
He pointed to Europe’s regulatory approach as an example of how governments can engage platforms on a legal basis.
Hamzah Al-Mostafa, Syria’s minister of information, also addressed the role of social media, describing misinformation as a global challenge that is particularly acute in the Arab world.
He said algorithms often favored sensational content over accuracy and called for a behavioral regulation to guide how digital platforms operate.
